Statistics on Settlements and Settler Population

As of the end of 2012, there are 125 government- sanctioned Israeli settlements in the West Bank (not including East Jerusalem and settlement enclaves within Hebron).

In addition, there were approximately 100 “settlement outposts” located throughout the West Bank. The outposts do not have official government recognition, although many of them were established with governmental assistance. Outposts are generally smaller than recognized settlements.

Twelve large Israeli neighborhoods were built in areas that Israel annexed to the Jerusalem Municipality after 1967. These neighborhoods are also considered settlements under international law. In addition, settler enclaves have been built in the heart of Palestinian neighborhoods in these annexed areas, with aid by the Israeli government and the Jerusalem Municipality.

There are an estimated 515,000 settlers in the West Bank. This figure is derived from two sources: According to data provided by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), at the end of 2011, 325,456 people were living in the settlements of the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem. According to data provided by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, the population of the Israeli neighborhoods in East Jerusalem numbered 190,423 people at the end of 2011.

According to the CBS, the annual growth rate for the settler population (excluding East Jerusalem) in 2011 was more than two and a half times higher than that of the overall population in Israel: 6% and 1.8% percent, respectively. Furthermore, approximately 25% of the increase in the number of settlers was the result of relocation by Israelis and of the arrival of new immigrants to Israel who chose to live there.